The students told The Jersey Journal that they're angry the school didn't give them more advance warning about its plans to close, and they're worried that they will have to take out more student loans to finish their schooling elsewhere.

"It's hard," said Shawna Wallace, of Irvington, whose Anthem education was set to end in December. "We wish we could do something to save it."

The for-profit Anthem provides training in massage therapy, medical billing and web design, among other fields. Wallace, who started studying to become a patient care technician in February, said she's already taken out $9,000 in student loans and has paid $80 a month to study at Anthem's Journal Square campus.

She worries that she may have to start over again at a different school. She doesn't know whether any of her Anthem tuition will be reimbursed.

"Why should we have to pay for a program we're not even going to finish?" Wallace said.

An email sent to students in July from Gregg Crowe, executive director of the school's Journal Square campus, said Anthem hopes to find "college partners to teach out your programs." Crowe blamed the planned closures on "significant financial challenges" and "unforeseen circumstances."

Anthem's other New Jersey campuses set to close are located in Cherry Hill, North Brunswick and Parsippany. The schools have about 1,200 students total enrolled, while about 160 staff members could be laid off, according to The Star-Ledger.

Anthem is also closing locations in nine other states, including Arizona, Texas and Wisconsin.

Massage therapy student Annavi Huninh, 20, of Jersey City, said her classes at the Journal Square location are set to end Sept. 15, the day Anthem said it may close its doors. She said she's "a little bit" nervous about whether she will indeed get to finish her education before Anthem shuts down.

"I have no idea what to do," she said.

Meanwhile, a billboard on top of the Journal Square building reads, "The road to a new future starts here."